Governor



Aug. 22, 1939. H. G. ADI- ER 2,170,744

GOVERNOR Filed March 1v, 1937 2 sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 22, 1939. H. G. ADLER 2,170,744

GOVERNORv Filed March 172- 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y in the mechanism for together with means for Patented Aug. 22, 1939 Herman G. Adler, Detroit, Mich.,

assignments, to

meme tion, Ann Arbor, gan

assigner, br

y Corpora- Mlch., a corporation of Michi- Application March 17, 1937, Serial No. 131,448

claims This invention relates to governors for internal combustion engines and more particularly to governors adapted for insertion between the carbureter andlntake manifold and actuated by changes in pressure in this manifold to govern the speed of the engine.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved governor of the type described.

More particularly it is an object oi' ,the invention to provide, in such a governor, means for adjusting the same for operation throughout a wide range of closely governed speeds. l

Another object of the invention consists in the provision oi' novel meansfor adjusting both the flexibility and the resistance of the governor spring.

A further object of the invention consists in the provision of novel auxiliary means for imparting a positive closing eifort to the valve in wide open position without producing additional friction on the valve and its operating mechanism when near closed position where the operating forces are a minimum.

An important feature of the invention resides simultaneously adjusting the tension oi' the spring, separately adjusting the tension only of this spring.

Another feature of the invention consists in the provision of simple actuating and locking means for the adjusting device.

`A still further feature of the invention consists in the provision of remote control mechanism for adjusting and locking the spring tensioning and resistance adjusting mechanism and which can be substituted for the before-mentioned adjusting and locking mechanism whereby the governor can be adjusted under the control of a key from the drivers compartment or at some other remote point in a vehicle driven by the governed ensine.

Other and further features and objects of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled i'n the art upon a consideration of the accom- Danying drawings and following speciication, wherein are disclosed several exemplary embodiments of the invention, with the understanding that such changes. binations of the disclosed features may be made as fall within the claims without departing invention.

In said drawings:

both the flexibility and from the spirit of the of such an enginev modifications and Acom- I scope oi' the appended oording to one feature of this invention with parts of the housing cut away -on the axis of the spring to show the adjusting mechanism;

Fig. ,2 is a horizontal section on broken line A 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line @-3 of Fig- 1;

Fig. 4 is a section online l-I o! Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on the axis of and showing a modified means for operating the adjusting screw; l

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 5 showing the application of sealing means to secure the adjustment;

Fig. 'I illustrates in longitudinal section remotecontrol mechanism substituted for the adjusting 15 means of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is an elevation of an alternative form oi' the key control mechanism for a remote-control adjusting device.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a fur- 20 ther modification.

Governors for internal combustion engines oi.' the type commonly known as "suction-operated comprise a casing including a passage to be inserted between the carbureter and intake mani- 25 fold of the engine and containing the governor valve. This valve is, in most cases, urged toward open position by a spring or other means to counteract the closing eilort of the suction oi' the engine suitably applied thereto. Because the 30 varying pressures occurring in the intake manifold are non-linear in respect to engine speed and/or power, the closing enort, however it may be applied to the valve, cannot be resisted by a simple spring directly connected to the valve or 35 its stem. Some means must be interposed between the spring and the valve to compensate for the linear variation in the resistance of the spring and the non-linear force acting to'close the valve in order that the governor may main- 40 tain such a valve position for all power outputs of the engine as to insure close governing.

Long experience with such governorsindicates that they must be carefully designed, each for its particular engine and the spring must have 45 a de inite vtension and rate or flexibility for each governed speed. This has heretofore made it diillcult to adjust a governor to operate at various pointsover a considerable range of speed without substituting a dierent spring for each speed. 50 so it has become the custom to x the g'overned speed within a fairly close range and not to provide any substantial adjustment.

Under the conditions outlined above, Biol' of a fleet of motor vehicles or the an operowner 012.55

one or more vehicles buys a governor foreach of them adjusted, say, to thirty miles per hour or whatever speed he desires the vehicle to be operated. But in many cases it is desirable under different operating conditions to permit the vehicle to be run at diierent maximum speeds and it is the object o the present invention to provide means whereby governors of the type described can be readily adjusted to operate over a wide range of speeds without in any manner reducing the effectiveness of the governing at any of these speeds.

Attempts to adjust the previously known types of governors had detrimental eiects on the closeness of governing in most cases only the tension or resistance of lthe spring could be adjusted. The present invention is shown as applied to a form of governor which has achieved a wide use in the art and which is disclosed basically in the patent to Handy and Bull No. 1,584,929.

Referring to'Figs. l and 2 of the accompany` ing drawings, this governor is seen to include a casing lll, having the passage ii adapted to be interposed between the carburetor and intake manifold of an engine and adjustable from open to closed condition by a butteriiy valve l assymmetrically mounted on the eccentrically positioned shaft i3 whereby the action of the combustible gases passing through the passage tends to close the valve. The closing is resisted by the helical spring id associated with the extended end of the shaft valve it by the flexible tape i5 having its opposite end attached at i6 to an arm il on the valve shaft. The spring and its associated mechanism are arranged in the compartment iii' associated with the casing lo. The tape i5 passes over the cam surface it extending from the arm Vi sa that the force of the spring is applied through varying radii to resist the closing effort of the valve. The shape of the surface I8 is carefully determined for the particular characteristics of the engine with which the governor is to be used.

The end of the spring it opposite to that attached to the tape is anchored by adjusting mechanism forming the essential feature of the present invention. An extension it of the casing l@ ispreierably formed integral therewith and is of tubular formation to house the adjusting screw 2l and its kerfed head 22. This screw carries at the inner end a rigidly mounted nut 23 whose outer surface is 'threaded to receive the convolutions of the spring Mi. The screw is threaded into a nut 2d rotatably mounted in a restricted portion .25 of the extension 2@ but restrained against longitudinal movement therein f by having a head bearing against a shoulder at the junction of the restricted portion and the cylindrical bore 2t. The screw head 22 isprovided with detent mechanism to hold it securely in adjusted position. This may take the form oi a spring-pressed ball 2 urged into a series of shallow Vgrooves .2d extending longitudinally oi the interior of the bore 26. If it is desired to lock the adjustment after it has been made by a screw driver, a Welsh plug 29 may be driven into the end of the opening.

The pitch of the thread 3Q on the screw 2l is greater than the pitch of the thread on the nut 23 whereby when the adjusting 'screw is adl vanced to the right, by suitable rotation, the nut 23 moves into the coils of the helix at a slower rate than it advances to the right, so 'that the tension of the spring is reduced as its rate is for diierent governing speeds has increased, that is, the spring becomes less fiexible as its tension is reduced and vice versa. In order to prevent the spring from rotating or twisting as the nut 23 is threaded into it, the end of the wire Vforming the spring is bent radially outwardly as shown at 32 in Figs. 2 and 4, and is constrained against rotation but permitted to move longitudinally in the groove 33 between the rails 3S preferably cast integral with the housing.

For every speed of the engine for which it is desired to have governing, there is a definite tension and iiexibility of the spring which must be eifected. The adjustment just described provides for such change in the rate and tension of the spring, for the whole is designed with a predetermined pitch to the threads on the nut 23 and on the screw 2l to assure the proper rate and tension for each of the speeds for which the governor is adaptable. However, during the assembly of the governor and sometimes in later adjustments, it is essential that the initial tension be properly set so that thereafter the tension and rate vary in the predetermined manner.

This is simply effected by rotation of the nut 2li which allows the screw 2| to be moved longitudinally without rotation, thus changing only the tension of the spring. The periphery of the nut. intermediate its ends, is provided with a suitable thread or more simply, it is just knurled as at 35 in Fig. 3 to cooperate with the threads 36 of a screw 31 loosely tting in the cylindrical bore 38 and having the same overall length as the depth of this bore. Rotation of this screw, by a suitable tool, imparts slow rotation to the nut and thus permits minute adjustments oi' spring tension to be made. The head of the screw is concealed by the cover plate 39 closing the compartment le and attached by screws to which a seal may be applied to prevent tampering with the adjustment.

Where it is desired to be able to occasionally change the adjustment to permit the engine to be run at a dierent maximum speed, the adjusting mechanism shownin Figs. 5 and 6 may be resorted to. Here the projection 2B' on the governor housing is truly cylindrical and the screw llhaving the head 22' is provided with a non-circular longitudinal bore Il) into which is slidingly tted a corresponding cross-sectioned rod di, projecting from the center of the head d2 ci a cap 63 for the end of the projection 20. Obviously, rotation 'of the cap imparts rotation to the screw which is permitted to move longitudinally in respect tothe cap and rod because of the sliding iit. The cap is provided with a series of circumierentially disposed holes 44 in the flange thereof and the extension 2B' is provided with a chordal slot 45 the ends of which substantially coincide with a pair of holes 6l so that a wire SS from the seal 41 may be passed therethrough to prevent further adjustment of the device without breaking the seal.

In certain types of vehicles operated by internal combustion enginesv it may be desirable to adjust the governed speed of the engine from the drivers compartment. For instance, a parent may desire to be able to drive the vehicle at substantially its maximum speed, but when allowing the same to he used by some of his children may wish to limit the speed at which they can operate the same, so there is provided in accordance with Figs. 'l' and 8, a remote control for the governor which takes the place of the cap and adjusting pin just described. In Fig. 'l the heavier cap 5t its over the extension 292 of the govmfp-.steering column locking head 58 ernor casing and is secured in position by a similar seal. This has-extended from its outer end a flexible sleeve 5I housingrthe flexiblecable 52. This cable has secured to the end which passes throughvthe cap, the pin IIl for adjusting the screw 2I2 as previously described. The flexible cable and conduit may pass through a'rubber grommet il in the dash of the vehicle. There is attached .to the l dash 'mounted mechanism 54 including the key actuated lock mechanism II which can be locked in any position by the withdrawal of the key so that it cannot be rotated in respect to the casing. This permits the insertion of the key and the rotation thereby of the lock mechanism to adjust the speed setting of the governor and the withdrawal of the key to lock the setting. If it is not desiredto mount the locking device onA the dash, itl may be mounted onA and beside the as shown in Fig. 8 where the is attached to a band 51 adapted around the 'steering column by a I8 from a' seal 6l` passes to be clamped bolt 58. The wire p through a hole 8i in the bolt and a secnd'hole 62 in the tongue of the strap 51 to prevent the bolt from being rotated to loosen the strap.

In Figure 9 is shown a further embodiment where the key controlled lock is mounted directly on the tubular extension 203.' The construction here may be considered as substantially identical to Figure 7 with the flexible cable omitted. The sleeve 10 which carries the rotatable lock barrel 1I, operable by the key 12, is adapted to slide-over the projection' 203 and to be secured in position thereon by the sealwire 463 exactly as shown in Figures 5 and 6. 'Ihe lock barrel 1| is provided with the non-circular rod 12 extending rearwardly therefrom and adapted to be slldably received adjusting screw 2| 3.

This type of adjusting mechanism is convenient where ch ges in governed speed are aften required but where the expense of the form shown in Figure 7 is not warranted, nor the continued removing and replacing of the seal is not desired. as in Figures 5 and 6, every time an adjustment is to be made. Keys can be furnished to those authorized to make adjustments and the adjustment can be simply made on lifting the hood of the vehicle, applying the key and rotating it the required number-of turns,'after which it is removed, and the adjustment is fixed until the key is again used.

Any cf the devices described perimt accurate adjustment of both the tension and flexibility of the spring, permit initial adjustment of the ten--4 sion, and insure proper speed control for any setting of the governor. y y

In the patent to Bull No. 2,048,423, for Stabilizer for suction governors, there is disclosed an arrangement of auxiliary piston exposed to atmosphere on one face and to the pressure on the up-stream side of the governing valve on the other', and connected to effective only throughout a relatively small arc of movement of the valve from open position. At open position, the forces tending to close the valve are otherwise a minimun and the piston is a valuable aid in starting the valve toward closing position, thereby preventing stealing and making the governor moresensitive under heavy loads and at high speeds.

Inv accordance with the present invention, a piston of similar function is incorporated in a opposite end of the cable thel of the piston. The

in the opening w inthe novel manner. This piston is shown at 1l in Fig. 2 operating in a cylindrical chamber 1l Iformed in the valve casing and having its outer end closed by a suitable head 12. The piston is secured to a rod or stem 13 guided in a bore 14,

leading into the passage I I which houses the valve y I2. 'I'he bore 14 is sufficiently loose so that pressure existing on the up-stream side of the governing valve (the governor shown is for down draft carbureters) is imparted to the inner face posed to atmosphere through the restricted passage 15 and the air filter 18 as shown.

outer face of the piston is ex' The piston is only effective at and near open 1 positions of the valve and in order to eliminate the frictional effects thereof when the yalve is nearly 'closed and when great sensitivity is desired, there is no piston`and the valve as in the patent referred to. A one-way connection is provided by mounting the abutment 11 on the valve plate I2, against which the end 18 of the rod 13 impinges as shown vin Fig. l. It is obvious that the valve can move ahead of the piston and operate independently thereof and to insure that the small negative pressure on the inside of the piston does not keep the rod in contact with the valve abutment at all times, a light sprirg 1'9 surrounds the valve stem 13 between the inner faceof the piston and the opposite end of the cylinder in which it operates. Sufficient resistance is built up by this spring as the piston moves to the right to insure-against contact between the rod end 18 and the abutment 11 after the valve has moved approximately 45 from open position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: l 1

1. Adevice for changing the'flexibility and tension characteristics. of a spring controlling the butterfly valve'in terna! combustion motor comprising meansy including a helical spring acting between an anchor and said valve counterbalancing the effort thereof at a predetermined speed of the motor and in all positions thereof, said anchor comprising a screw having a xed head threaded for engagement'with the coils of said spring, a nut threaded on 'said screw and mounted for rotation only, means to rotate said screw in the nut and spring, and means to rotate the nut about the screw.

2. A device for changing' the flexibility and tension characteristics of a spring controlling the butterfly valve in the intake manifold of an interna] combustion motor comprising means including a helical spring, and means to adjust the flexibilityrand tension of said spring comprising a screw having a fixed head Athreaded for engagement with the coils of said spring, a nut threaded on said screw and mountedfor rotation only, means to rotate said screw in the nut and spring, and means to rotate the nut about the screw.

3. A device forchanging the flexibility and tension characteristics of a spring controlling the butterfly valve in the intake manifold ofan internal combustion motor comprising means including a helical spring acting between an anchor and said valve counterbalancing the eil'ort thereofat a predetermined speed of the motor and in all 'positions thereof, said positive connection between the of the screw thread being greater f-f-i. the pitch of the thread on the head which engages the spring. g

4. A device for changing the embility and tension charaeteristics of e. spring controlling the buttery valve in the lintake fold of an intemal combustion motor comprising means including e, heieaqi spring, s means to adjust the eibiiity emi @more o3 seid spring comprisms a. screw having e fixed head threaded for exigeant with. the coils of said spring, a. nut threaded on seid screw and mounted for rotation only, means to rotate said. screw 'in the nut and spring, end means to rotate the nut about, the screw, the pitch of the screw thread being greater then the pitch of the thread on the head which nsesee the spring. 

